Birth
by Rotem
Summary: AU. All living things are born through pain. Does that mean living is painful? It's up to each and everyone to make their own destiny. KonoSetsu.


**A/N:**

Hi there everyone! So here I am, back again with a new story I have high hopes for. I decided to call it 'Birth' since birth can mean so many things. A new life, a new beginning, a new love etc…

The plot is something I have been thinking of for a long time. It's kinda different from the original of what I had in mind, but I still like it, so I hope you would too.

**Disclaimer:** Negima ain't mine yada yada yada blah blah blah... If it were mine.. KonoSetsu would have been... Well, lets not make this story an M rated one eh? :)

Here we go!

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><p>It seemed like nothing had change for the last 12 years.<p>

The wind gently blew, caring small shards of flower dusts to an unknown far away place, a rustle of leafs from the forest trees all around can be heard, this was the home she came to know for the last 12 years.

At this time of the day, like every day, she found herself leaning by a tree, her Yuunagi held close.

With her eyes closed, the girl breathed slowly…

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><p><em>It was already nightfall, soon enough it will turn into a peaceful night, or so she believed.<em>

_The alarm was on and was fading away, where is she being taken to?_

_Held within her mother's arms, the young half demon could see they were heading farther and farther away from their village._

_"Dear, what are we going to do? They will kill her!" she heard her mother._

_"I won't let them, just keep going" her father assured them._

_And so they kept on running. By the time they came to a stop it was already night. She couldn't hear the village's alarm anymore. She couldn't recognize the place they were at as well._

_As her mother fell to her knees, holding her child close to her chest, her father knelt beside them._

_And for the first time, ever since they left the village, the little child finally spoke up._

_"Mommy?"_

_Her mother looked at her with tears, as if asking from her child for forgiveness. _

_"They're still after us, we both know this is her only choice!" her father spoke up again._

_Her mother slowly loosened her embrace around her child, letting her stand on the grassy ground. With tears in her eyes, her mother looked at her, letting trembling hands caress her face with yet such tenderness, brushing white hair from her small face, staring into those silver eyes, and finally averting her gaze to her white as an angel wings._

_"Setsuna, please survive this for us" She heard her mother whisper then felt a kiss on her forehead._

_A little confused, the girl looked over to her father, who held his wife's hand in his own and his Yuunagi with the other. He slowly held his sword up to his little girl and handed it to her._

_"Take this with you, and use it to protect the one you love the most"_

_Holding the sword with both her hands the girl looked at it with questioning eyes._

_Before she managed to ask her parents what they mean, a rustle from a nearby thicket bush was heard, and with an inhuman speed her father was already standing in from of them both, spread his large dark wings, claws sharp and ready._

_"Run!" he ordered._

_At the same moment an arrow was shot aiming straight to the half demon's face. Before it manage to hit its target, her mother came into view, blocking the arrow with her own body, letting it pierce from her back to her chest._

_"MOMMY!"_

_"S… Setsuna… we love you so much" were her last words before she collapsed down to the ground._

_Feeling her own tears making their way to her eyes, the small demon made an attempt to step forward to her mother, yet was held back by her father's voice again._

_"RUN SETSUNA!"_

_The half demon watched as full crow demons from their clan stepped out of the dark and into the moon's light, facing her father with swords in hand._

_"NOW!"_

_The half demon took a few small steps backwards, looking at her father and mother for the last time, then without thinking turned around and ran as fast as she could, still holding to Yunnagi._

_Taking a small glance to see his daughter disappearing into the night, he averted back to the now enemies in from of him._

_"To think our own king will fall for a human…"_

_"And to have a child with her, such a filthy act…"_

_Another demon stepped closer to his wife and pulled her hair up to make her face visible to all, laughing as he did._

_"She is pretty hot, if she was a demon, I would have definitely…"_

_Before letting him finish what he was about to say, the king launched himself at the demon, long deadly claws stab at his gut, and throwing him to crash into a nearby tree, making him cough blood. _

_"Don't you touch her…"_

_That was the cue for both sides to launch at each other, swords and claws at ready._

_Away from them, a young half demon was still running, barely able to breathe any more, yet her legs kept caring her farther, fear taking over with every step. Panting hard, she finally came to a stop at a dead end, standing on a sharp cliff with nothing but water steaming beneath her. Looking to both her sides the girl tried to find something to help her get down, yet nothing was there. The only thing left was to fly down with her wings, but she couldn't. She never tried to fly. Today was the first time she exposed her wings, and caused everything that happened until now._

_"Found ya…"_

_A voice from behind said._

_She twirled around to see a crow demon smiling at her with crazy look in his eyes, a bloody sword held tightly in his right hand._

_Holding Yunnagi closer to her chest the girl stepped backwards, trembling, tears streaming down her face._

_"Oh, come on… don't give me that face, I'm setting you free. After all… You're just a curse which will soon turn into a blessing once I kill you… I bet I'll turn into the clan's king when they all hear how I killed the village's curse…"_

_The young half demon gasped as the ground under her feet disappeared with her next step, and felt herself fall backwards as the demon's bloody sword missed her neck inches away._

_Panic grasping her heart, the girl screamed, trying to flap her wings miserably yet failing to fly. A splash of water echoed in her ears as she sank down, head first, into the river._

_A moment later, everything was blurry, her vision turned black as the night._

_The crow demon watched from the cliff, spitting blood, upset like a beast that just lost its prey._

_"Keh… you better be dead…"_

_He said as he turned around and disappeared into the forest._

_Down the river, a small figure was washed back to shore, coughing water, trembling out of fear and the cold. Setsuna blinked back to consciousness. Her body felt heavy and too weak to carry. But she knew she had to, her mom asked her to, and if she stayed here, another member of the crow clan might find her._

_She gazes around her and searched for a place to hide. She located a large enough hollow tree a few feet ahead. She crawled with her last pieces of strength, still holding onto Yunnagi, and made her way to shelter._

_Inside the tree, Setsuna managed to sit up, panting from struggle. A few moments later she felt the tears flowing down her face. She was scared, so very scared._

_Covering her mouth with both hands, she screamed without making any sound, only with shrieks of pain._

_That was the first time an angel's cry was heard within the forest._

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><p>As the calm warrior she turned to be today, Setsuna opened her eyes, trying to forget the images that dream had left in her mind.<p>

'_That dream again…'_

Setsuna sighed as memories from the past washed her mind…

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><p><em>It all happened when she was just 6 years old; her parents were killed, her sole was broken, and her heart sealed itself from the outside world. Ever since that awful day, she managed to survive day by day. She used the knowledge her parents taught her, and searched for berries and mushrooms, as well as catching a fish every now and then. She concealed her wings back; promising to herself to never let anyone else or herself see them again.<em>

_The hollow tree was used as her home until she managed to find a small cave nearby the river which served her until this very day._

_As a child, she never used to walk outside for too long. She was too scared that some crow clan members might still be looking for her. But as time passed by, she came to believe the clan just assumed she was killed from that cliff and stopped hunting her. So she often found herself wandering around the forest, learning its paths and trails by heart._

_After some time of living within the forest, it was that one day that she heard a voice echoed._

_Leaving everything in hand, she ran back inside the hollow tree to hide. She waited several moments, but the voice just kept echoing. It didn't seem like words, since she couldn't understand it. Too scared to even think, the half demon just kept listening. As the voice kept echoing, she came to realize that it was a voice of someone crying._

_She managed to peek outside the tree and look around. There was no one there._

_She leaned back again, trying to think of what she should do._

_Than fear again, she knew this might also be a trap to catch her, she can't risk going out now._

_Feeling her heart slowly speeding up, the girl held Yuunagi closer. Even with fear striking her, there was something in that voice she somehow knew that won't harm her._

_Slowly letting herself out of the tree, she walked towards the voice. It took her several minutes to find the source of the voice. She hid herself behind a small bush nearby, watching the small figure crying loudly._

_As Setsuna watched, she came to realize that this figure was a small girl, seemed to be at the same age as her, with brown chocolate hair that reached her shoulders. She was wearing a pink Kimono decorated with flowers in different colors. Setsuna just kept hidden, watching the girl for a while, trying to understand just who she is. She didn't remember ever seeing her in the crow clan; crow members never wear Kimonos anyway they had their own traditional way of dressing._

_She tried to lean in to get a better look at the crying figure before her but failed to see the small branch located beneath her and accidently stepped on it, making an obvious sound she was there._

_Right on cue, the crying had stopped, and the brown haired girl looked to her side where the cracking sound came from._

_"W… Who's t…there..?" With weak voice she asked._

_Setsuna stopped breathing, her eyes open wide. She exposed her hiding place, she knew she had to stay away from here, there's no where for her to run, and that girl will just follow her. With her mind racing, she suddenly noticed the young girl was making her way towards her, and she could feel her heart almost beating itself out of her chest._

_She decided that if this will be her last day, she might as well fight like her parents and make them proud._

_Setsuna made a move which caused the bush to rustle even more, and made the chocolate haired girl stop in her tracks, watching carefully as in front of her, a white haired girl came out, holding a sword that seemed to be too big for someone her size._

_They both stood and looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Then finally the brown haired girl spoke up._

_"A… Are you a bandit?" she asked, her hands gripping down her Kimono nervously._

_"N… No" came a weak answer._

_"So… Why do you have a sword?"_

_"It's mine" Setsuna plainly answered._

_"Oh"_

_Silence again._

_Setsuna averted her gaze away from the girl and looked at the ground; Thinking. When she looked back up, she found the girl staring at something on the ground as well. Finding the courage she needed to speak up again, Setsuna spoke up._

_"Who are you?"_

_Looking back to the white haired girl in front of her, the young intruder doubted if she should answer. But looking into those silver eyes made her feel safe, there was no one else around she could ask for help anyway, might as well give it a try._

_"My name is Konoe Konoka. My daddy and I were headed to visit my grandpa but we were attacked by a group of bandits and I managed to escape but I got lost and I can't find my daddy again"_

_Her last words were lost between short sobs as tears made their way back to her eyes. She raised her hands in attempt to wipe them._

_"I… I can help you"_

_"Eh?"_

_Setsuna looked back to the ground, too embarrassed to look into the other girl's eyes. She didn't want this girl to have to bare the same pain she's baring, so she knew the least she could do is help her find her way out of the forest._

_"I said I can help you" she repeated herself._

_"Really?" For the first time, Konoka's voice seemed a cheerful, knowing there's still hope._

_Setsuna nodded, and waited for the other girl to say something. Instead she could hear Konoka stepping closer to her, so she decided to look back at her. To her surprise Konoka rushed towards her, arms coming to crush around her shoulders, making her loose her balance and fall backwards._

_"E…EHHH?" Her heart speeded up in less than a second, but this time, it wasn't fear, she couldn't tell what it was. She decided then, that that Konoka girl has a good grip when hugging, since all her attempts to get out of it didn't seem to work. _

_"Thank you so much!" Konoka ignored the reaction of the young girl underneath her, and kept hugging her. _

_"So what is your name?" she asked, finally letting go from the white haired girl, sitting up and letting Setsuna sit up too._

_"I'm… Sakurazaki Setsuna" And that was all she intended to say._

_Accepting this answer, Konoka stood up, offering Setsuna her hand and helped her up to her feet._

_They walked together, with Setsuna leading their way around the forest, trying to find the other girl's tracks of where she came from. Meanwhile, Setsuna could hear Konoka telling her all about how her father is one of the great sword handlers in the world, and once they'll find him he'll be so grateful he'd let Setsuna learn how to use her sword too. She also heard her saying her father usually take a few selected students into this forest and make them train hard to be better warriors._

_Setsuna just kept listening, not really talking herself, other than nodding and humming every now and then._

_Before they noticed, it was already night time, and Setsuna suggested they should stop and find a place to stay at. Konoka nodded and followed Setsuna as she guided them both to a small place she knew that could keep them safe._

_Setsuna sat down placing Yuunagi next to her, and looked at Konoka as she gracefully lowered herself to a sitting position._

_"Do you think we can get out of here?"_

_Setsuna looked at her for a moment, not really sure what answer she should give the other girl. To be honest, she never tried to get out of the forest; she didn't know what might wait for her out there._

_"Yes" She said. Not knowing if that was a lie or truth. She really didn't know if she could help Konoka out of the forest, but she did know she's going to help her any way she could._

_A soft giggle from Konoka pulled her back from her train of thoughts and look at her._

_"You always make this funny face when you think!" She kept on laughing softly. "You know Setsuna, if we're going to be friends, we should call each other like close friends does!"_

_Setsuna blinked a couple of times before the other girl continued._

_"Hmm… let's see… I'll call you… Secchan!" Konoka said happily. "And you should call me Kono-chan!"_

_Setsuna stared at the other girl, not sure how she should react._

_"Come on, give it a try, say Kono-chan! "_

_Setsuna could feel her face heated up. Konoka is going to be her first friend ever since that day. It made her feel happy; something she almost forgot was existed. _

_"Ko… Kono…"_

_Before she could finish, shouts were heard from nearby, it sounded like a large group of people, all calling the name of the chocolate haired girl. Setsuna watched as the other girl jumped to her feet with a smile on her face._

_"It's daddy!"_

_Konoka rushed forward towards the place the shouts were coming from. Setsuna quickly got up, grabbing Yuunagi once again, and followed her. As they both ran, dim light came into their view, a few more steps and they both could see the group of people calling Konoka's name with torches in hands._

_Happy to be found, Konoka called her dad and rushed into his arms._

_Setsuna, however, stopped a few feet away. She watched those people surrounding Konoka with smiling faces, using their free hands to pat her head. Setsuna noticed some of them had swords tied to their sides._

_It made her scared again, and she took a few steps back._

_As Konoka finally got out of her father's embrace she looked back at where Setsuna stood; not stepping outside and going into the light._

_"Secchan?"_

_Setsuna looked back at Konoka and took another step back._

_"Goodbye, Kono-chan"_

_With that she ran back, deep into the forest, never looking back._

_"Wait! Secchan!" Konoka called, and watched as her new friend disappeared._

_"Konoka? Is everything ok?" Her father knelt beside her, looking at the same direction his daughter was looking at to find nothing._

_Konoka raised her hand to her chest and held it there. Keeping her gaze focused at the last place she saw Setsuna, She answered._

_"Daddy, do you believe angels exist?"_

_Her father looked back at her with questioning eyes, and then smiled at her, raising his hand to pat her head._

_"You are my angel"_

_Konoka looked back at her father and _smiled_ softly before looking back at the dark forest._

_"Come on Konoka, it's not safe being here, we should go back to the palace". Her father said as he got back to his feet, offering his daughter his hand._

_Konoka took her father's hand and followed him. As they made their way out of the forest Konoka kept looking back, hoping to see her new friend once again. But she never did, and so she followed her father out of the forest._

_Hidden within the dark, Setsuna watched as Konoka walked her last steps out of the forest._

_At that moment, pain grasp her heart, she wished she could be with them, but was too damn scared of leaving._

_As the last dim of light faded away, Setsuna once again found herself left alone._

_She stared at the moon above, making a wish for the first time ever._

_'I wish I could see her again…"_

_Away from there, sitting on her bed in her royal room, Konoka watched the moon outside through her window and wished the same thing._

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><p>That was the day Setsuna found her reason to live again.<p>

She found her new dream; a wish she hoped one day will come true.

A few days after her encounter with Konoka, she remembered the girl saying her father usually taught his students Kendo within the forest grounds. And so she looked for that place. And once she found them one day, she watched and learned from the shadows. When his classes were over, she quietly walked away and trained herself, aiming to become the best there is.

She kept this for days which quickly turned into weeks, then months and years.

As her body grew taller and muscular she forced herself once to steal one of the students' uniform while he was washing his sweat at the river.

It was a plain white Kimono and red Hakama. At that time, she decided it will have to do since it was her only option other than walking around naked.

As the years passed, Setsuna managed to collect dropped items from crossing carriage which weren't careful enough to watch for the items they were supposed to carry. Few of the items were handy, some were useless and some were a mystery of their actual use.

That's how she managed to change the color of her hair to dark black, and have matching eyes. Giving her a more human look, making her demon half remain part of her past with it.

Letting another sigh out, Setsuna got up, and looked around, it seemed this like this day is going to be just another day.

With Yunnagi held in one hand, Setsuna walked away from her resting spot, wandering around aimlessly.

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><p>Aaaaand, that's it for now xD<p>

I hope I didn't mess is up too much, as some of you know, English ain't my native language…

*sigh*

Hope you liked it so far.


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